The Lioness & The Snake
by padfooter
Summary: After the death of Fred during the war, Hermione is left alone to raise their daughter Frederica Weasley. With the pressure of having to raise her daughter alone and finishing her final year at Hogwarts without her best friends, she never expected to fall in love - let alone with Draco Malfoy.
1. Frederica Weasley

Without You – Chapter One: Frederica Weasley

**Hello lovelies! I do realize that this story was posted a while back but I decided to rewrite it so here it is. Originally this story was called Pearl but now its called Without You. I hope you guys enjoy!**

_She moaned as his hands made their way down her body, sending chills run down her spine, his lips were leaving a trail of little kisses down her neck. Her back arched towards him, desperately trying to get closer to him. His right hand slowly started making it's way up her shirt, exposing her pale skin to the cool air. His lips once again found their way to hers – their tongues fighting for dominance. Their kiss ended suddenly, due to the fact that her shirt was being lifted off of her petite form, creating a barrier between them. Before she knew it his hands were on her back, fumbling to undo her grey lace bra. _

"Mama." _Hermione moaned, grabbing a hold of fiery red hair pulling him closer to her, not wanting this to end. _

"_I love you so much." He whispered in her ear. Tears started rolling down her cheeks, his face was slowly starting to fade away. _

"Mama."_By now her dark blue jeans were off - crumbled up in a ball in the corner of the room. The matching pair of lacy grey underwear she was wearing were being taken off, the mere touch of his fingers down her leg making her cry in need. _

Hermione's eyes snapped open. Bringing her hand to her cheek she felt the wetness from her tears. Looking down she saw that she was wearing a pair of his light blue boxer shorts and one of his old t-shirt.

"Mama" Hermione looked towards the corner of the small room, a light blue crib was installed in the corner. Standing up she walked towards it, peering down into the infant bed. Frederica Weasley was peering up at her mother from beneath the light pink sheet; her blue eyes filled with unshed tears. She bent down to pick up the toddler, who within immediate contact with her mother stopped crying.

The door to the small bedroom opened and in walked Harry and Ron, their eyes filled with sleep and their hair resembling a bird's nest.

"Are you ok? We heard her crying." Harry muttered, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

Hermione nodded, not looking at either of them directly in the eyes. "I'm fine." She muttered - her voice cracking.

Ron walked towards the pair, putting one hand on Hermione's lower back, while the other came to rest on Frederica's very own ginger coloured hair. Harry walked towards the bed and sat down, beckoning Hermione to join him. She complied, handing the baby over to Ron. Frederica's hand shot up to Ron's hair and started to tug at it with all her small 1 year old self could muster.

Sitting down next to Harry, Hermione started fumbling with the hem of the old t-shirt.

"What's wrong love? You can tell us, we're your best friends." Harry said, rubbing her back in comfort.

"I just miss him so much." She stated, her eyes filling up with tears as she looked at Ron who was now tickling her daughter – their daughter. "He should be here with me, with her." She continued. "She needs a father." Her body racking with sobs as she collapsed back onto the bed, her face buried in the pillow.

Harry and Ron looked at each other; they were obviously very worried about Hermione.

"We know that Hermione, we all miss him. I lost a good friend, Ron lost a brother and you lost your boyfriend. It's normal to be upset." Harry said.  
Hermione quickly sat up from her position on the bed and marched towards Ron and grabbed Fred out his arms, startling the child who then started crying.

"You do not know anything about it Harry. Imagine losing Ginny! How would you feel? Imagine having to look at your daughter everyday and seeing her. So no, you don't understand. Not one bit!" With that Hermione walked out of the bedroom and down the long staircase of the Burrow.

"Hermione dear are you ok?" Mrs. Wesley's head popped out from behind the kitchen door her face laced with worry. "I heard some fighting upstairs."

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley, it's just Harry and Ron both being so incredible stupid." She paused and sighed. "I just need some air." She continued before disappearing out of the living room, the echoes of Fred's cries slowly fading.

Harry and Ron came hurrying down the stairs, panic on their faces.

"Where did she go?" They both asked simultaneously, trying to catch their breaths.

Mrs. Weasley walked towards them, smacking them both upside the head. "What did you guys say to her? She came down here upset with Fred crying her head off and then she just dissaperated. I told you both countless times to be carful with her. And you Ron should be ashamed of yourself!" Both boys looked at each other in shame, she was right. They shouldn't of said to her. "Plus you both are leaving her alone for her seventh year. She won't have her best friends with her. This is hard for her, so you better go find her and say you're sorry. Mrs. Weasley concluded before heading back into the kitchen.

The bell of the shop chimed, signalling the arrival of a customer. George looked up from the box of Pigmy Puffs he was restocking and smiled when he saw Hermione. His smile faltered when he saw her eyes –puffy and red from crying.

"What's wrong hun?" He said, framing her face with his hands.

"Orge, Orge!" The pair laughed, Frederica was looking towards George her hands in the air demanding to be picked up. Without a moments hesitation George picked up the smiling baby, who immediately cuddled up to him.

"So what's up Hermione?" George asked kissing the top of Frederica's head. Hermione shrugged, shuffling her feet. George turned back to look at Verity who was taking care of a customer near the love potion section.

"I'm going in the back for a few, so take care of the front ok?" She nodded at him with a smile as George led Hermione to the back of the store. Boxes and boxes of products were all lined up against the back wall of the office. Some were labeled "Dungbombs" while others were labeled "Nose Biting Teacups." George sat down on one of the maroon chairs, his arm still firmly wrapped around Frederica. "Now tell me what's wrong love."

"It's just, Harry and Ron don't understand. They don't understand how much I miss him. When I look at her." She paused smiling at her daughter. " She reminds me so much of him, his eyes, his hair." She giggled. "They don't understand the hurt I feel, every single day." She sighed, looking down at her lap. George sighed not looking at Hermione but rather at the lone picture frame that hung on the opposite wall of the office. It was a picture of himself and Fred, on the first day their store opened.

"I look at myself and I am reminded of him." He smiled sadly at Hermione. "Then I look at this little missy right here and I can't help but smile. For one thing she is his spitting image – well us I should say. But at the same time I know how proud he is of you, I know that he is probably looking at us right now and laughing at our silliness. He is probably looking down upon her. Your beautiful daughter and cursing himself for not being here, for you but mainly for her." He paused, running his hands through Frederica's locks. "He loved you so much Hermione, so much you have no idea. You know, he was going to ask you to marry him, after the war ended. It was his plan." A sob echoed in the small office.

"I know he did, before Bill and Fleur's wedding he gave me this promise ring, and promised that after the war he would buy me an actual engagement ring." George stood up from the chair and walked towards Hermione, wrapping his arms around her, without squishing the child in his arms. "No one knew about it, I kept it on a chain around my neck, kissing it every night before going to bed." Her sobs were getting louder and louder. "When we were captured by the snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor." She stopped, trying to catch her breath. "Bellatrix… she, she tortured me, demanded to know how we had gotten the sword of Gryffindor. She ripped the chain off my neck… and I couldn't do anything about it. It's gone, forever." By this time Hermione was crouched into a fatal position, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Oh Hermione." George said, kissing her neck tenderly, her warm tears soaking his shirt. "It's ok love, it's ok." He continued, rubbing her back in comfort.

The bell, situated above the entrance of the door chimed and Verity's voice was heard.  
"Hello Harry, hello Ron." Making Hermione groan. They were the last people she wanted to see. Harry and Ron casually walked into the office, their faces laced with worry.

"We are really sorry Hermione." They both said simultaneously, getting on their knees in front of her. She looked down at their solemn faces and then at Frederica who was sound asleep in George's arms.

"It's ok you guys, but I just need you to understand how much I hurt, every single day. I loved him so much." She smiled sadly at the pair. "I'm trying, but it's hard being a single mother, plus I'm going back to school, and you guys won't be there. That's going to be hard too. It's too much. But I'll get through it for her. " She concluded, pointing towards the sleeping baby who was nestled in George's arms. "She's already lost her father, she won't lose her mother as well." She continued sternly, nodding her head at Harry and Ron who smiled back at her.

George stood up from his place on the floor, carful not to wake up the sleeping baby. He handed Frederica back to Hermione, kissing her for head before walking out of the office, leaving the golden trio behind.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving me alone and not going back to Hogwarts." Hermione said, rocking the baby back and forth gently.

"There is absolutely no reason to go back Hermione and you know it." Ron said as the trio walked out of the office.

"I know, but still." She replied, not quite sure of what to answer.

"Bye George." Hermione said, looking back at George who was behind the counter serving Hannah Abbott. He waved back at her, smiling at her.

The trio walked out of the store, making their way through Diagon Alley, smiling as they recognized the many faces of their classmates. After the war, it had taken well over a year to rebuilt part of the castle that had been destroyed. The boys had profoundly refused to go back to Hogwarts, due to the simple fact that they had been offered apprenticeships as Aurors at the ministry. Hermione on the other hand, having no idea what to do with her life, had decided to go back. Minerva, the new headmistress of the school had been made aware of Hermione's particular situation and had reassured Hermione that she would have her private headquarters and she would have an elf to help her take care of Frederica. Being appointed as headgirl, gave Hermione many advantages as such.

"I need to go get her some diapers." Hermione said as she made her way to the brand new "Wizards Are Us" store that had just opened. The trio walked into the store, which was filled with various baby products such as: diapers, bottles, enchanted pacifiers and a bunch of other things. Walking towards the diaper section, a woman with long blond locks caught her attention. She hadn't changed one bit, Narcissa Malfoy, wearing her long black robe, a green piece of ribbon tying her hair in place.

"Well if it isn't Hermione Granger." Narcissa said, giving Hermione a warm smiled. "What are you doing here?" She continued, putting the diapers in the shopping basket.

"I uh, I just came to get some diapers actually." She said nervously. Frederica was currently with Harry and Ron who were admiring the enchanted wall decorations, which were displayed near the cash register. "For my daughter." She finished, not looking at the lady of the Malfoy house.

"I didn't know you had a daughter." She paused smiling. "I'm here for my daughter too actually." Hermione looked at her, shock written all over her face. "Ya I know it came as quite a surprise to me too. After the war it sort of just happened really." Hermione nodded at the older woman, first of all shocked by the news but also shocked at her kindness. "Well it was nice seeing you again Hermione and best of luck with your daughter." Narcissa smiled at her before walking towards the cash area.

She grabbed two bundles of diapers and walked towards Harry and Ron.

"I just had the weirdest encounter you guys." She told them as she took out the coins from her wallet. "Did you know that the Malfoy's had a daughter?" Both Harry and Ron nodded.

"Yea, we did. Her name's Eloise Malfoy she's around the same age as Frederica."

"Well that's interesting. I wonder if Malfoy will be back at Hogwarts this year." She asked, pondering the question very carefully.

"I hope for your sake that he won't." The duo giggled at Ron's snazzy remark and walked out of the store.

**Well there you have you guys the first chapter of Without You! I hope you guys liked it so please review, subscribe and all that stuff. **

**Padfooter xxx**


	2. Headgirl and Headboy

The Lioness & the Snake – Chapter Two: Headgirl and Headboy

**Hello my darlings, here we are with chapter two of The Lioness & the Snake which I changed the title too once again, I'm trying to write as much as I can into one chapter and make them of a certain length and I do think it's good on that part but anyways here is chapter two. **

_"But Fred, why won't you come?" Hermione sais sadly, not looking at her boyfriends face, the bustling sound of students rushing to get a place on the train making it harder to understand one another. It was 10:50 exactly on September the 1__st__ and the trio were on their way back to Hogwarts for their sixth year. _

_ "My love you know how much I hate school. Plus, you know of George and I's plan. It's going to happen I tell you, you are dating the future owner of the best joke shop in the whole of Great Britain." He smiled down at her, lifting her face up to look at him. She giggled at him, pecking him on the lips. _

_ "Ya, I know. I'll miss you though." He kissed her for head looking at the big red clock behind her – 10:53. _

_ "Oh don't worry, I'll come visit, and on Hogsmede weekends I'll meet you there. Don't worry we'll see each other." He grabbed Crookshanks cage and handed it to her. "You should go join Harry and Ron my love, trains about to leave." She sighed, once again going on her tippy toes to kiss him tenderly on the lips. She turned around and started walking towards the door of the train. Before she got out of his reach, he leaned forward and smacked her butt, making her jump in shock. She turned around – her face, red as a tomato._

_ "I love you." He said, shoving his hands in his pockets. _

_ "I love you too silly." She said, smiling at him before climbing onto the train._

Hermione was standing at Platform 9 3/4, holding in one hand, the handle to Crookshanks cage and in the other the handle to the sky blue baby carriage where Frederica was sleeping soundly, not one bit bothered by the noise at the train station. It felt weird being here again, it felt weird not being with Ron and Harry. At least she had Ginny.

"Here let me take Crookshanks." Ginny offered from behind her. The felt a weight being taken of her shoulders

"Thank you so much Ginny." Hermione said, smiling at the petite ginger.

She walked towards the steel doors of the train and managed to slip through the narrow entrance way. Looking through the glass doors that lead to the train compartments she saw Neville and Luna – holding hands.

"Hi you guys." Hermione said, smiling at the couple as she sat down, putting the baby carriage on the floor.

"Hi Hermione. How was your summer?" Luna asked her, smiling.

"Oh, it wasn't so bad I suppose. What about you guys?" She picked up Frederica who had started to fuss in her carrier. Luna looked dreamily at the baby.

Hermione gazed outside the compartment door looking at the students walk casually down the aisle. She quickly looked away when she saw the snake himself. What was he doing back at Hogwarts? Had he had a change of heart, much like his mother?

He opened the door of the compartment, his gaze fixed upon Frederica who was nestled in Hermione's arm, her blue eyes staring right back into his grey orbs. His perfectly ironed black and green robes, with the headboy badge gleaming against the fabric His platinum blond hair nicely groomed back.

"Granger." He said, not taking his off of the baby. "I see you're head girl huh." She nodded at him, bringing Frederica closer to her chest. "Considering that we will be sharing a common room, I sure as hell hope it won't be crying its eyes out 24/7." He smirked at her, turning back towards the compartment door and walked out. Hermione looked at him leave, boring holes through the back of his head.

"I can't believe I have to share a common room with him!" She said, glaring outside the window, patting Frederica on the back.

"What a complete arse." Ginny said looking at Hermione's stunned face.

"And here I thought he might have changed." Hermione continued, shrugging her head is disappointment.

The chicken thighs, the mashed potatoes, the roasted potatoes and the dark brown gravy. Hermione licked her lips, as she looked down at her plate.

"Mama." Frederica said, putting her hands up towards Hermione. Grabbing the bottle of milk beside her plate, she muttered a warming spell, the milk bubbling in heat. Handing the bottle to the eager baby, she then grabbed her fork and dug into her meal. She could feel the eyes of the students staring at her, and mostly importantly at Frederica.

"Welcome everybody to another great year at Hogwarts." McGonagall said as she rose from her position in the middle of the teacher's table at the front of the hall. "First of all I wish you all a great year, second with the war finally behind us I am hoping that this year will pass without much drama. And as your new headmistress I will do everything in my power to help you success in your studies. Also, before we dig in I would like to announce that our headgirl for this year is Hermione Granger." She paused and started clapping, looking directly at Hermione, a smile on her wrinkled face. The whole hall exploded in applause, even the Slytherine table was cheering for her. "And our headboy Draco Malfoy." The whole hall erupted in hushed whispers.

"Why him?"

"After everything he's done."

"He killed Dumbledore for gods sake."

"SILENT!" McGonagall screamed, shushing everyone. "Most importantly I want everyone to remember this, and I mean everyone. No matter if you're a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw or a Slytherine, I expect you all to treat each other respectfully. The war and its prejudices are past us and we need to move forward and that's what I expect you all to do. And now I won't hold you back, dig in!" She sat down and the whole hall filled with chatter and the clanking of utensils.

After the feast, everyone was sent off to the common rooms where they could unpack and get ready for their first day of classes. Hermione and Draco were following McGonagall through the third floor corridor. They stopped in front of a portrait of a young women, her hair in a bun with a few lose strands framing her face. She wore a dark pink colored dress, and had a silver necklace around her neck.

"This is the portrait that leads to your common room. Now please note that I expect both of you to act as model towards the other students, especially towards the younger students. It is important to show house unity among the students and I thought putting both of you as leaders was a great way to do this. Firstly you need to pick a password." McGonagall said, looking at the pair.

Hermione and Draco looked at one another and then at the lady in the portrait.

"How about the Lioness & the Snake?" The lady from the portrait said, a smiled on her graceful face. McGonagall, laughed.  
"That's perfect! Now I shall let you both go a rest up, and Hermione everything has been set up for Frederica, and as I mentioned in the letter you have an elf at your service whenever you need her, she also has your schedule and she will show up when you head to class. Her name is Pixie and she is very well trained with babies, so Frederica will be in perfect hands. With that I bid you both goodnight." She nodded at the pair before turning around and walking down the long hallway.

The portrait opened and Hermione stepped through, followed by Malfoy. She smiled at the sight in front of her. The room gave off a cozy feeling; the walls had been painted a light blue color, the dark marble fireplace was against the wall, with the white sofas facing it. No sign of the color red, yellow, green or silver for that matter was apparent in the room. There were three doors, the right one leading to her room, the one in the middle lead to their conjoined bathroom and the one on the far left lead to his room. She opened the door the room. The walls a fiery red color, the double bed with the yellowish covers was situated in the middle of the room, a mahogany dresser on the right wall and opposite that was the crib. Right above the cribs were matching selves. The room was perfectly made just for her taste. Her bags were next to the dresser awaiting to be unpacked.

She placed the baby carriage carefully on the floor, as to not awake the sleeping baby. Grabbing her bag she started unpacking, placing her clothes neatly in the dresser. Her various books were placed on one of the selves above the crib while the other shelf was filled with the various baby products Hermione used for Frederica. The final touch was the picture frame of her and Fred back at Bill and Fleur's wedding. They were in the middle of a dance, he arms were on her waist, pulling her closer to him while her hands were wrapped around his neck.

She sat down on the plush bed, looking at the picture frame and smiled. Standing up again she grabbed Hogwarts A History from the shelf, peering down into the crib at the same time, smiling as she saw Frederica sleeping soundly. She walked out of the room without making a noise and sat down in one of the plush couches, the fireplace warming up the room. She opened the book, looking at the sprawled handwriting on the front page.

"_My dearest Hermione, we've been together for a year now and I couldn't be happier. Everyday I wake up and smile cause I think of how much I'm lucky to have you in my life and to celebrate our anniversary I got you this Special Edition signed by the lady herself of your favorite book. I did a lot to get you this book; I mean I had to walk into a bookstore. I love you so much Hermione and I know that I'm going to spend my life loving you more and more every day. _

_ Your loving boyfriend, Fred. xxx_

A tear fell onto the page of the book. She quickly rubbed her eyes as she heard the door of the bedroom open.

"What are you doing here by yourself, don't you have a baby to take care of?" He said as he sat down next to her on the couch.

"Don't you have a girl to go shag?" Hermione asked, not looking at him. He laughed, running a hand through his pale locks.

"I don't actually, wanna have a go?" He said, smirking at her.

She groaned at him, standing up from the couch and made her way to her room.

"Hey, Granger. You forgot your book." She turned around just in time to see the book making its way straight for her face. Her first instinct was to duck, causing the book to crash on the wall behind her, the binding falling off completely. The pages flew all over the room. Hermione collapsed, trying to grab a hold of the loose papers, desperately trying not to burst into tears.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry Hermione." Draco said quickly, his face, red in embarrassment. He scurried around grabbing the sheets of paper she had missed.

"Just screw you Malfoy." Grabbing the stack of papers from his hands she walked to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

Malfoy groaned as he heard the crying of Frederic through the door. He made his way to his room, closing the door behind him. The crunch of paper under his feet alerted him. Looking down he saw the front page of the book, the messy handwriting and all. Bending down to pick it up he placed it on his nightstand and lied down on the silver bed sheets and closed his eyes. The faint crying of the baby making his head ach. This was going to be a long night.

**So here we have it my loves! I hope you guys liked it and enjoy the new title! I probably won't be updating much this week cause I have a bunch of school work due and such. Please review and tell me what you guys think! **

**Padfooter xxx**


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